The charity sector has a great opportunity to reform Gift Aid and maximise donations if it speaks to the next government as a combined force, a new report argues. ‘Give and Let Give’, written by research consultancy nfpSynergy, evaluates Gift Aid since its inception in 1990 and argues changes are needed as it has become too complicated and bureaucratic, particularly for the small charities it was specifically set up to help.

Finding information on charity expenditure can take more than three times as long as making a donation or getting details of their services, a new report suggests. ‘Searching for Answers’, published by research consultancy nfpSynergy, also shows that success and impact stories were easy to find and transparency levels do not seem to be affected by a charity’s size.

Every two years, Third Sector magazine teams up with nfpSynergy to conduct a survey of around 600 charity staff to find out their thoughts on the sector. 2014's results have several major themes, including disillusion with the government, growing concern about the independence of the sector and unease about the 40 per cent cut in the Charity Commission's budget.

4 in 5 Conservatives happy for charities to provide frontline servicesHalf of MPs (47%) think it is ‘unacceptable’ for charities to pay some staff over £100k a year, while a third (35%) are in favourA survey of 480 charity staff showed 38% of them were also against it, with 47% in favour13% of MPs are happy with charities paying staff over £200k a year, with three quarters opposed (77%).

5 in 6 Labour MPs disagree as politicians split on charities in politicsJust 42% of Conservative MPs think it is acceptable for charities to challenge government policy, with 39% against the ideaOnly 37% of them feel charities should challenge the policies of political parties, with 46% opposed.

Young most likely age group to volunteer and men overtake womenVolunteering is at the joint highest level for ten years with over a quarter of the British public (26%) having given time in the last three months (chart 1)Volunteering by men at 10 year high as they overtake women (chart 2)Volunteering by 16-24 years at 10 year high and at twice level of a decade ago (chart 3)The young are still the most likely age group to volunteer, having consistently reported the highest volunteering levels of any age group on average over

This is the second part of our new volunteering report and you can download it free in the top right hand corner of this page. It's being released in seven parts:Part 1 – The political and social landscape for volunteeringPart 2 – Volunteering trends over the last decadePart 3 – Harnessing volunteer motivationsPart 4 – The changing mechanics of volunteeringPart 5 – Engaging the young, the old and the family to volunteerPart 6 – How do we manage the 21st Century Volunteer?

Scottish parties split over impact of independence on charities19 of the 20 SNP MSPs surveyed believe that Scottish independence would have a positive impact for charities, a new report finds Seven out of 15 Labour MSPs and four out of six Conservative MSPs surveyed raised concerns that charity funding in Scotland would be adversely affected by independence30% of Scottish public said they ‘didn’t know’ what impact Scottish independence would have on charities, pressure groups or voluntary organisations26% agreed that ‘the future could become less cer

Whether or not Scotland votes for independence, the future of the country is set to change. As politicians continue to debate what independence could mean, we have analysed what MSPs and the general public think the impact of a ‘Yes’ vote would have on Scottish charities.

Donors are reassured when no one earns over £50,000 or travels on first class rail69% of people think London-based offices and rebrands are ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ wasteful (slide 2)Over a third of people think lobbying government or other organisations is ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ worthwhile (slide 2)54% feel the same way about advertising, while 61% say that about developing a website (slide 2)The best way for charities to make people feel confident they’ll spend a donation well is to not allow staff to travel first class on expenses according to 52% (slide 3)Half of people would feel confident if the organisation was run mostly by volunteers (50%), no one earned more than £50,000 a year (47%) and no one got a bonus (46%) (slide 3)One in three said they’d feel confident if a charity had no offices in London, while 23% would if staff paid for their own Christmas party. One in ten would if staff worked a day a month for free (slide 3)

10 percentage point drop sees them fall to 7th most trusted institution, Armed Forces remain topPublic trust in charities has fallen for the first time since 2011. 56% of people now trust charities ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’, compared to 66% in 2013 (slide 3)Charities drop to 7th in the list as they’re overtaken by schools, small businesses and the Royal Family (slide 3)Armed Forces remain top with 70% despite a fall of 8%, while Scouts and Guides remain in the top three on 64% (slide 3)Political parties are still bottom on 12%, with 51% trusting them very little (slide 2)Only a quarter trust the Fundraising Standards Board, while 28% have never heard of it (slide 4)People were also asked which statements a charity could make that would reassure them about making a donation or would convince them the charity was doing a good job (slide 8)70% chose ‘every new charity has to be scrutinised by the Charity Commission before it is approved’ and 68% selected ‘every charity’s accounts are on the Charity Commission website’ (slide 8)68% opted for charities reviewing their costs every year to keep them low (slide 8)

We've been sending out quite a few free reports recently, so we thought we'd put them all in one convenient place. Here's a preview of what's available:The Politics of CharitiesWhat do the public think about charities having the right to lobby?